05.22.25 CALIBA Publisher News & Information

May 22, 2025

in Publisher Newsletter,

IN THIS ISSUE

CALIBA Office:

CALIBA Road Trip

Promotional Opportunities:

*FATHER'S DAY & JUNETEENTH TITLES DUE MAY 30TH* Social Media Promotions

*RESERVE AD SPACE BY JUNE 20TH* 2025 Winter Catalog

CALIBA Programs & Conferences:

*SPONSORSHIPS CLOSE MAY 31ST* 2025 Tri-West Summer School

*REP PICKS & SPONSORSHIP INTEREST FORMS OPEN TOMORROW, MAY 23RD* 2025 Fall Fest

2025 Golden Poppy Awards

Del Mar Spring Forum

For Authors: How to Partner with Independent Bookstores

Dates and Deadlines

Bookseller Shoutouts

Bestseller Lists

Classifieds

CALIBA Currently Reading

Resources

CALIBA Bookstore Map

NEW MEMBER CORNER

Welcome to CALIBA, Buteo Books!

Owner: Lyzy Lusterman

Established: was a mail-order business in 1971; moved to California and opened as a brick-and-mortar under new ownership in 2024.

About Our New Member: Buteo Books is an independent, family-owned, specialty bookstore carrying one of the largest selections of bird books in the world! We’re proud to serve the birding community with a mix of new, used, fine, and rare books, plus art, gifts, and events all centered around birds, ornithology, and natural history.

LA WILDFIRES UPDATE

The fires are contained, but the work to rebuild continues. We will continue to update the LA Wildfires Mutual Aid Google document to share ways that you can support bookstores affected by the fires. You can find this document plus resources for booksellers affected by the fire on the CALIBA LA Fires Resource page.

CALIBA STAFF

Hannah Walcher

Executive Director

hannah@caliballiance.org

Valentina Moberg

Operations Manager

valentina@caliballiance.org

Alecia Reddick

Supporting Staff

alecia@caliballiance.org

HOUSEKEEPING

UPDATE YOUR RECORDS WITH OUR NEW BANK INFO

Please update your payment records as we’ve switched to

US Bank. If you need more info to update your records please email Valentina.

CALIBA BOOKSTORE MAP

This map shows our current bookstore members.

CALIBA OFFICE

PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

Get your books in front of the most reliable influencers: California's Independent Booksellers

SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTIONS: FATHER'S DAY & JUNETEENTH TITLES DUE MAY 30TH

Our booksellers have requested a new way to feature your books as part of their social media marketing. We've come up with a list of themes to promote your titles.

DUE 5/30: Submit Father’s Day titles
DUE 5/30: Submit Juneteenth titles
DUE 6/13: Submit Disability Pride Month titles

Click here to view more themes through August.

2025 WINTER CATALOG: RESERVE AD SPACE BY JUNE 20TH

RAMP is a marketing, sales and production group managing the two seasonal (summer and winter) catalogs for bookstores in four regions, including CALIBA.

All publishers are invited to submit a digital front cover mockup for the 2025 Winter Catalogs. Send in your titles, all ages welcome! Click here to enter the Cover Art Contest.

CALIBA PROGRAMS & CONFERENCES

2025 TRI-WEST SUMMER SCHOOL: SPONSORSHIPS CLOSE MAY 31ST

Bookseller Summer School, presented by CALIBA, MPIBA, and PNBA, and open to all booksellers from any region, is a series of FREE, virtual summertime sessions offering professional development and networking opportunities all summer long, no travel required!

Sponsorships for this unique bookseller education program are available now. Show your support for our member bookstores and pick up some great benefits!

BECOME A SPONSOR TODAY

2025 FALL FEST: REP PICKS & SPONSORSHIP INTEREST FORMS OPEN TOMORROW, MAY 23RD

CALIBA is meeting at the South San Francisco Conference Center for two days of lively conversation, education, rep picks, and networking on Wednesday-Thursday, September 17th-18th. Click here for more details.

Exhibitor Registration | Call for Authors: Exhibitor Registration and Call for Authors Deadline is Friday, June 13th

Reserve a Hotel Room: CALIBA Group Rate Ends Monday, August 25th

2025 GOLDEN POPPY AWARDS

The members of CALIBA present The Golden Poppy Book Awards to recognize the most distinguished books written by writers and artists who make California their home.

We suggest that publishers send review copies:

Winter/Spring titles in as soon as possible
Summer titles by July 30th
Fall titles by September 15th

Learn more and submit your titles for consideration.

Thank you to all the booksellers, authors, and sales reps that attended the Del Mar Spring Forum last Wednesday, May 7th. View more photos on our website.

FOR AUTHORS: HOW TO PARTNER WITH INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES

First, congratulations on having your book published! We applaud your creativity and commitment.

As you think about marketing it to stores, it’s important to remember that booksellers are inundated with catalogs and solicitations on a weekly basis. Buying decisions are based on their experience and knowledge of their customer base, but other factors can also exert influence: undefined price of the book, space in the store, even money in the bank. With that said, here are ways to maximize your chances of getting your book onto independent bookstore shelves.

Click here to read the full article.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

May: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month / Jewish American Heritage

Month / National Small Business Month

May 26: Memorial Day

May 30: Father’s Day and Juneteenth book titles due for CALIBA’s Social Marketing Promos

June: Pride Month / Audiobook Appreciation Month

June 11-14: ABA Children's Institute 2025 in Portland, OR

June 13: Fall Fest Exhibitor Registration & Call for Authors Submissions Deadline

June 15: CALIBA's Winter Reading Guide (powered by RAMP) - Bookseller Orders Close

June 15: Father’s Day

June 19: Juneteenth

June 20: Deadline to Reserve Winter Catalog Ad Space

July 30: Golden Poppy Awards - Summer Titles Submission Deadline

August 25: Deadline to Reserve a Fall Fest Hotel Room with CALIBA’s Group Rate

September 15: Golden Poppy Awards - Fall Titles Submission Deadline

September 17-18: Fall Fest @ South San Francisco Conference Center

October 5-11: Banned Books Week

$1 - dym-book & boba shop, in Pasadena, gave a tour of their bookshop for AANHPI Heritage Month.🧋 2 - Octavia’s Bookshelf, in Pasadena, visited the Thoughts About Feelings podcast to answer the question: do bookstore owners and libraries have beef? 📚 3 - Wild Sisters Book Company, in Sacramento, welcomed author Lyla Sage into their store and got their whole Rebel Blue Ranch stock signed! 😍 4 - {pages} a bookstore, in Manhattan Beach, teamed up with Ron Chernow for a great event celebrating his new book about Mark Twain. ✍️ 5 - Ruby’s Books, in Folsom, received a special delivery this week! The Where’s Waldo Shop Local marketing materials. 📬 6 - Avid Reader Bookstore, in Davis, showed off some of the great titles in the Summer Reading Guide. 🌞 7 - Flintridge Bookstore, in La Cañada Flintridge, showing off their assortment of books and throwback items to celebrate grad season! 🎓 8 - La Playa Books, in San Diego, is holding a Congressional Letter Writing event tonight! ✉️ Don't forget to follow and tag CALIBA (@caliba_20) to be featured! CALIBA resources has info about being featured by Shelf Awareness, USA Today, and Bay City News.$

1 - dym-book & boba shop, in Pasadena, gave a tour of their bookshop for AANHPI Heritage Month.🧋

2 - Octavia’s Bookshelf, in Pasadena, visited the Thoughts About Feelings podcast to answer the question: do bookstore owners and libraries have beef? 📚

3 - Wild Sisters Book Company, in Sacramento, welcomed author Lyla Sage into their store and got their whole Rebel Blue Ranch stock signed! 😍

4 - {pages} a bookstore, in Manhattan Beach, teamed up with Ron Chernow for a great event celebrating his new book about Mark Twain. ✍️

5 - Ruby’s Books, in Folsom, received a special delivery this week! The Where’s Waldo Shop Local marketing materials. 📬

6 - Avid Reader Bookstore, in Davis, showed off some of the great titles in the Summer Reading Guide. 🌞

7 - Flintridge Bookstore, in La Cañada Flintridge, showing off their assortment of books and throwback items to celebrate grad season! 🎓

8 - La Playa Books, in San Diego, is holding a Congressional Letter Writing event tonight! ✉️

Don't forget to follow CALIBA @caliba_20!

BESTSELLER LISTS

Click here for the Los Angeles Times & Southern California Independent Bookstore Bestseller List

Click here for the San Francisco Chronicle & Northern California Independent Bookstore Bestseller List

CLASSIFIEDS

Part-Time Administrative Assistant - The Collective Book Studio, San Francisco Bay Area
National Accounts Manager - Chronicle Books, San Francisco
Social Media Assistant - Chronicle Books, San Francisco
Contracts Manager - Chronicle Books, San Francisco
Experienced Bookseller Wanted - Camino Books, Del Mar